What Is The Difference Between ISIS and Al Qaeda?

The real story here is the consequences of losing focus. The US under Bush largely succeeded in clearing Iraq of Islamic terrorist by implementing the surge, killing Zarqawi, and developing ties to the Sunni minority. These gains, paid for dearly in terms of American lives and treasure, were foolishly frittered away when it became clear that all Obama really cared about was getting out of Iraq, which created a power vacuum, while at the same time trying to remove Assad in Syria, which would create another power vacuum.

The Russians think we are insane removing stable governments under the false guise of an “Arab Spring”, as these power vacuums are openings for relatively small groups of terrorists to seize power. Iraq’s Malaki looked at the US withdrawal and turned to his Shiite base and Iran to save his skin. Now we are reaping the fruits of this feckless policy.

At this point our options are limited. If we are to prevent the Sunni/Shiite war that ISIS wants to destabilize the entire Middle East without letting Iran in, we need to fill the power vacuum in Iraq and stabilize the country. At the same time, it is clear the US public will not tolerate a major US military effort to do this. What is needed is a large force of Arab League troops with US air and logistical support. Unfortunately, our relationship with the largest Arab power, Egypt, is in tatters thank to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama’s total ineptitude. Maybe if we come crawling on our knees with $billions in cash they will help us anyway, as Egypt’s rulers, like Russia’s Putin, understand that Islamic terrorism is a cancer that must be destroyed, not ignored.